- Runs sideways along the wall
- Manual or motorised
- Suits low-roof and basement garages
Sliding garage doors run sideways on a track rather than lifting, which makes them the answer for a small number of Midrand garages where nothing else fits. Where the ceiling is unusable, a beam crosses immediately behind the opening, or the garage has an unusual shape, a side-sliding door solves what lifting doors cannot.
When a sliding garage door is the right answer
- Garages with no usable ceiling space, including converted spaces and outbuildings on the smallholdings.
- Openings with structure immediately behind the lintel that rules out tracks or a roller box.
- Garages where partial opening is useful, since a sliding leaf can be opened part way for pedestrian access.
- Wide openings on the Kyalami and Glen Austin stands where a single lifting leaf would be unmanageable.
What a sliding garage door needs from the garage
Clear wall alongside the opening for the leaf to slide onto. That is the constraint and the reason we survey before recommending. If the wall is interrupted by a window, downpipe or boundary, a sliding door will not work and we tell you at survey.
Sliding garage doors and ground conditions
Sliding doors are sensitive to the floor. A driveway that falls across the opening, a cracked apron or a threshold collecting grit will all cause a sliding leaf to bind. We check the ground at survey and include any preparation in the quotation.
Security and sealing on sliding garage doors
A well-specified sliding door locks securely, but it seals less completely than a sectional and has more exposed running gear than a roller shutter. Where the garage holds real value we would usually recommend a roller shutter in security gauge if the opening can take one.
Automating a sliding garage door
Sliding leaves can be automated with the correct operator and track. Safety edges matter more here because the closing edge moves horizontally at chest height, so they are fitted as standard on automated installations.
Get a quote for a sliding garage door in Midrand
Free survey, itemised written quotation including any ground preparation, fixed price once approved, twelve-month workmanship warranty.
Common questions
About sliding garage doors
When there is no headroom at all and a wall to slide along. The door runs sideways on a track instead of lifting, so nothing occupies the ceiling. Common on converted garages, workshops and buildings with services running under the roof slab.
Roughly the width of the opening, alongside it, kept clear. On a wide opening we build the door in two leaves that part in the middle, which halves the space needed on each side.
Yes, with a sliding gate motor sized for the leaf weight. The track has to be kept clean for it to run reliably, so it suits a covered or paved approach better than an exposed one.
Debris in the bottom track and worn rollers, in that order. Both are cheap to put right if you catch them early; left alone, a door dragging on a fouled track will wear the track itself.
Related
Also worth a look
Tip-Up and Up-and-Over Garage Doors
Single-panel, spring balanced
A single rigid panel that tilts up and slides back overhead. Simple, robust, and still the most common door on older South African homes.
- One-piece steel or timber panel
- Counterbalance spring mechanism
- Motorisable with the right operator
Security Roller Shutter Doors
Basements, stock rooms and high-value stores
Heavy-gauge security shutters for basements and stock areas, with anti-lift locking, bolted bottom rail and integration into existing access control.
- Anti-lift bottom rail with bolts
- Alarm and access control integration
Industrial Roller Shutter Doors
Commercia, Clayville, Randjespark
Heavy-duty galvanised shutters for the Midrand industrial belt, specified by cycle count and span, with openings to 8 000mm for distribution and manufacturing.
- Openings to 8 000mm wide
- 0.8mm–1.2mm galvanised slat
- Chain hoist or motorised